This is not a day care. This is a university!

Dr. Everett Piper, President of Oklahoma Wesleyan University, recently published an open letter on their website. For those unaware, OKWU is an evangelical Christian university... and I'm an atheist agreeing with an evangelical Christian in this regard. How awesome is that!

His open letter is in response to the frustrations associated with the "millennial generation" caused by their generally coddled upbringing. While his message has strong faith-based overtones, it's valid and important statement of "suck it up you babies, life just got real."

Here's a portion...

If you want the chaplain to tell you you’re a victim rather than tell you that you need virtue, this may not be the university you’re looking for. If you want to complain about a sermon that makes you feel less than loving for not showing love, this might be the wrong place.

If you’re more interested in playing the “hater” card than you are in confessing your own hate; if you want to arrogantly lecture, rather than humbly learn; if you don’t want to feel guilt in your soul when you are guilty of sin; if you want to be enabled rather than confronted, there are many universities across the land (in Missouri and elsewhere) that will give you exactly what you want, but Oklahoma Wesleyan isn’t one of them

The full open letter isn't long, and well-worth the read.

a reply to: SkepticOverlord

Good for him. I think he is saying what a lot of other people are thinking.

Hopefully he doesn't hurt anyone's feelings and ends up having to resign.


"This past week, I actually had a student come forward after a university chapel service and complain because he felt “victimized” by a sermon on the topic of 1 Corinthians 13. It appears that this young scholar felt offended because a homily on love made him feel bad for not showing love. In his mind, the speaker was wrong for making him, and his peers, feel uncomfortable."

"I’m not making this up. Our culture has actually taught our kids to be this self-absorbed and narcissistic. Any time their feelings are hurt, they are the victims. Anyone who dares challenge them and, thus, makes them “feel bad” about themselves, is a “hater,” a “bigot,” an “oppressor,” and a “victimizer.”

I mean really????!!!!

What is going on exactly?

Cut straight to the bone.

Shame most of "them" will just cry about needing a safe-space to recover from his "hateful" letter.

a reply to: SkepticOverlord

That's one of the greatest things I've read in awhile. People have to start standing up to the modern irrational mindset.
I think I'm going to start a band called Trigger Warning.

a reply to: SkepticOverlord

Good for him. When these coddled children move into the real world, they won't be able to cope.

Pretending to be a victim won't play well once you're on your own.

a reply to: SkepticOverlord

Kudos to this man.

This has been a disturbing trend for the last fifteen years, or so. It's time for it to stop.

Apparently Dr. Piper forgot he was speaking to one of his “special” snowflakes who lost his pacifier...

Tom Starnes (FOX):

Dr. Piper’s brilliant take on the current state of affairs on college campuses came about after a student complained about a chapel sermon on 1 Corinthians 13 – the Bible’s love chapter.

The student felt offended because the “homily on love made him feel bad for not showing love,” he explained. “In his mind, the speaker was wrong for making him, and his peers, feel uncomfortable.”

Dr. Piper warned that could set the stage for a problem that transcends college campuses:

“Do we want ideological fascism or do we want intellectual freedom and academic freedom,” he asked. “Because really what we have right now is an argument for ideological fascism. You must submit. You must agree. You must be one of us. And if you don’t, we will silence you. We will crush you.”

Fox and Friends:
New York Daily News:

Good on him...hopefully this gains them more applicants, because while I'm not a proponent of a lot of the Christian teachings, I can back what he's saying here, and if it produces adults who have a good work ethic and don't play the victim for the rest of their lives, I can overlook the whole supernatural-being thing for now.

a reply to: Murgatroid

Dr. Piper '16!
I don't care about his religious affiliation. I dig his style.

a reply to: seagull

Hopefully I'm wrong... but I don't think we've seen nuttin' yet.

Just think how many kids in the 10 to 13 year age bracket are still being taught (or indoctrinated or brainwashed, if you like) into thinking in this manner.... that everything is offensive, etc. And they still have a few more years until they reach college.

Side Note: Two sides to the coin.

1) I wasn't a particularly bad kid in school, but I had my moments. Back then, when the school called home, I was automatically guilty in the eyes of my parents (and to be candid... rightfully so). But something seems to have happened along the way. Nowadays it seems like when little Johnny's teacher calls home, the parents INSTANTLY insist that "Someone must have done something to provoke our little angel."

2) However, with that said, I do see many of the public schools acting a little screwy these days, so I can see why parents in SOME instances aren't so quick to take the school's side. That school out in California (I think) that didn't allow students to wear anything with an American flag on May 5th, as to not "offend" the Mexican students. You had that other school where they were making the kids sing some recent pop song with lyrics changed to be all about Islam (I believe someone on ATS made a thread about it). All sorts of odd things coming out of the schools these days.

Alot of miles out of this one lately

a reply to: SkepticOverlord

Good read and I believe it should go out to the masses to see. *WARNING,ABOUT TO USE A WIDE BRUSH*
I know there are those that are very good people out there in this up coming generation,HOWEVER,the most of them I see and hear about are just too busy taking selfies all the time to even use common sense. I have never seen a generation of people that spent every waking moment going on about ME ME ME,like these people do. When you have a group of people SO STUPID,AND YES I SAID THAT,that they can't understand cgi and run out to a forest to take 'selfies' with live wild bears,and the park has to close to the public so they don't end up having to kill said bears because of your stupidity,.....HOUSTON,WE HAVE A PROBLEM.

These same fools follow everything about the Kardasians like its their bible or something. That is the most untalented group of losers I have ever seen. To follow them is a total waste of time,that could be put to better use in this world. In the meantime,they don't want to get involved in politics because the issues are just to confusing for them! They sit with their heads in their phones in New York while a robbery goes on next to 20 of them,and not one of them even knew a robbery was in progress! Had they known,I sincerely doubt they would have called the police,they would have been too busy videoing it. But at least then the police would have had something to go on.

I have talked to friends of mine that are business owners and have hired some of them.OMG. They have nothing good to say about them. They tell me they have NO work ethic at all. They think they should just breeze in and work when they feel like it,and go home when they don't. It is mind boggling. My friends said outright, I won't hire any more of them! They just can not conduct business normally with them and their foolishness.

This nonsense on campus' that has been going on lately.Yes it is foolishness. They are there to get an education,yet spend their time stirring up trouble. If you are being harassed on campus and can't get anyone to help you,I get it,you have to stand up and do something about it. But when your demands are better wages for people that work on campus? Not your monkey,not your circus.Get back in the classroom.

Now lets go to a sticky place,here is the reality of life: Sometimes bad people do good things,and sometimes good people do bad things.It is called being human. Hitler built the autobahn. Nothing bad about that right? Does it make him a good person? Nope. But even evil people can now and then pull off something worthwhile. The same is true over good people. If you look deep enough into any famous person's life,you will see both good and bad. We have people in this day and age that want to CHANGE HISTORY. They want to ban certain people for the bad things they did,no matter if they did anything else that was good or not. They want their names gone,or symbols banned etc. so that future generations will have no idea of what those things are ,or what they once meant. This is how history gets rewritten and the truth sinks into a mud pit never to be seen again.

Did the Germans tear down the concentration camp after WW2? Nope,Auschwitz is still standing to this day. Why? For all generations to come and see what that generation did and how wrong it was,so it will never be repeated again.That is how you deal with bad things people do.You hold it up to the light and let all see it for what it is. That way it is used as a teaching tool for the future. It is bad enough that history is written by the victors.Now we muddle it up further by just removing inconvenient truths.

We are a nation with amnesia.We just keep going over and over the same mistakes again because we refuse to remember and learn.

a reply to: eluryh22

Both of those is why parents need to be involved in the schooling of their children.

There would be no excuse for a school to get away with #2, if parents were involved.

My parents, especially my mom, would have gone nuts. In high school, most of my teachers knew who my parents were, 'cause they were there, every time the opportunity was presented.

...and God have mercy if I got in trouble. They'd make sure it was actually legit, then I was in trouble. It taught me to stay on the straight and narrow for the most part, but it also taught me how to be sneaky...

Even when I was going to college, I was expected to let 'em know what was going on.

Didn't like it much then, but now? I couldn't be more thankful for it.

a reply to: seagull

You said exactly what i was thinking we the parents can break this cycle, we must break this cycle.

a reply to: seagull

Amen!

Our son is only in Pre-K but the teachers and staff know my wife and I already.

We've also opted to go the private school route because it seems that, since they want to earn your tuition money, they appear to take the input of parents more seriously. It also seems that, in general, at least in our neck of the woods, the parents that are spending the money on school seem to be more interested. (I'm not saying that parents of public school students don't care, I'm just saying on-average).

Shame on the older generations more like for being so narcissistic self absorbed and for eroding the moral foundations of society by not setting a proper example.


On behalf of all "Millennials"

WHAT DID YOU EXPECT!?

a reply to: seagull

We have decided to make less money by having my wife stay home and use a home school program for our kids.

this personal attention is both good for my wife and kids.

Only our Intellectually Disabled child is receiving public schooling. Neither of us can do better than those who are trained to work with those types of children. Once communication is built up in him we will keep him at home as well.

Being personally involved in your children's education is a plus plus plus.

It needed to be said and is well overdue.

I am glad there is some sanity left in higher education.

originally posted by: 0hlord
Shame on the older generations more like for being so narcissistic self absorbed and for eroding the moral foundations of society by not setting a proper example.

On behalf of all "Millennials"

WHAT DID YOU EXPECT!?

What a perfect description of Millennials!

Narcissistic...check.
Self-absorbed...check.
Eroding moral foundations...check.

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.

a reply to: Dimithae

Dr. Everett Piper address' this subject in a blog post and an interview below:

Last week’s images of student anarchy sweeping across America’s campuses should compel anyone who believes in a civil society and at least a modicum of intellectual liberty to ask a simple question: What have we wrought by what we have taught?

It all starts with education. What we teach our kids will bear predictable results. Teaching our children good ideas will lead to good beliefs, good behavior, good community and good government. Teaching them bad ideas will lead to bad beliefs, bad behavior, bad community and bad government. As Adolf Hitler is purported to have said, “Let me control the textbooks and I will control the State.” Education always has a predictable, if not an inevitable, outcome.

The American university is imploding in its self-refuting duplicity. What was academic freedom yesterday has become ideological fascism today. You must think as we think. Submit or be silenced! The university is obviously in peril. Run by the State and its thought police, colleges across the land have become indoctrination camps more so than campuses of open inquiry. Propaganda and power now reign where there used to be a pursuit of truth.

But why are we surprised? Bad ideas will breed bad behavior as surely as an acorn will grow an oak or a hurricane will bring a flood. Ideas have consequences, and the lousy ideas we have been teaching in our universities for the past several decades are bearing themselves out daily before our eyes. Preaching victimization and fomenting class resentment; teaching moral nihilism while mocking moral absolutes; dumbing down the value of life by creating a culture of death; worshiping government rather than God; celebrating vice while mocking virtue … These are just some of the ideas we have been teaching for decades since Weaver’s prophetic treatise, and the outcome of our ideological temper tantrum has been as predictable as oak trees, hurricanes and even the sunrise. Bad ideas bear bad fruit. Garbage in, garbage out.

Ideological Fascism or Intellectual Freedom?

"Education is not about information, it's about integrity. It's not about a career, it's about character. ...your pursuing truth because truth is real and that's the goal of education, "find out what's true". Opinions are dangerous, truth sets us free. The goal of educaton should be truth not opinions.